A fitting finale for Games volunteers

Bob Grant: He and his wife, Judy, a fellow Games volunteer, are old hands, having also volunteered at the Sydney Olympics.Photo: Justin McManus

By Clay LucasMarch 26, 2006

VOLUNTEER Bob Grant might be grateful for the recognition being
heaped upon him and his teal-clad volunteer army at tomorrow's
Commonwealth Games 'thank you' parade.

But all he really wants is some sleep.

"We're going on a holiday after it's over. To recover," says Mr
Grant.

He and his wife, Judy, who also volunteered at the Commonwealth
Games, are veterans of the volunteer circuit, having served tours
of duty as volunteers at the Sydney Olympics.

Mr Grant was a competitor in the 1956 Olympics in Melbourne, in
the javelin, and took part in the opening ceremony. "We had 100,000
people there in 1956," he remembers.

He and his wife, along with 5000 other volunteers, have been
given free tickets by the State Government to tonight's
extravaganza. He's as excited about it as he was at the opening
ceremony  which he says was markedly different to the 1956
opening. "It was much more ad hoc and much, much smaller. We didn't
have flying trams  we had school children and a few guns
firing blanks, and not much else."

Volunteers were crucial to the success of the event, he says, so
the recognition is good. "These Games wouldn't have worked without
them  they've put in an enormous amount of time, and it's
been a pretty heavy schedule," he said.

"Rather than just being a spectator, we wanted to be a little
cog in a big wheel and help the whole machine work."

He doesn't think volunteers will suffer from depression after
they can no longer get their uniforms out of the closet. "But there
will be a lot of catching up on sleep."

Premier Steve Bracks said volunteers needed to be thanked for
their tireless work. "The unsung volunteers who have all done us
proud throughout the Games," Mr Bracks said. "(They) have been the
face of Melbourne and Victoria and they have been magnificent."

Tomorrow's parade for athletes and volunteers will depart the
Victorian Arts Centre at noon and travel along St Kilda Road and
Swanston Street, turning right into Collins Street. It will finish
at the Treasury building in Spring Street, where Mr Bracks and Lord
Mayor John So will meet them.